My dad is coming up on retirement age. And his dream is to move to Maui. He has the means to do it. But would like to live somewhere else during the summer months. Right now he lives in California but has not lived anywhere else. He owns property on Lake Tulloch now but I think he is looking to bail on California. He hasn't really been anywhere else in the country.

Basically what he is looking for is:

Some where to go 4 months of the year (June July August Septemeber)

Water Front

No Crowds

Budget around a million bucks

He is never going to do this but talks big and I want to know what kind of options are out there. Thanks, Mike

Tennessee is a good retirement state, I have had a few clients move there. COL is cheaper and retirement income isn't taxed like it is in CA. Long Term Care costs are cheaper when that becomes a reality

Had a "friend of a friend" that was obsessed with moving to Hawaii. They sold their house and business and moved out there. They were sick of it after a year and moved back after about 18 months and took a bath on a million dollar house. Moral of the story - rent - don't buy.

not really sure about the humidity but don't think it's too bad. My mom who is from the Bay Area went there and loved it. Said she could easily live there. It is the most visitied city in the US now. Need to get out there sometime.

My goal is to eventually relocate to SC, or possible TN or GA. Realistically that may not happen until I'm ready to retire or may just happen eventually as a vacation home. I may make it as far as NC sooner though, more jobs. Obviously not a concern for him in retirement, but if you get the idea my goal is to move south. Taxes and government policy here in NJ are both absolutely insane. Some better states north but it's cold and I can't ride on ice. So for me, southeastern states are where I want to be. Mostly for more freedom and lower cost of living, but also for warmer weather and longer summer season.

My grandparents have a lake house in ME that's very nice. Lots of nice lakes in the area and lower cost of living than CA. NH would probably be better, for lower cost of living than ME and still plenty of nice lakes. If it's only a summer thing June-September the weather is nice in ME/NH. Highs typically in 80s sometimes 90s and lows cold enough to wear a jacket and have a fire at night. If planning on Maui though, it would be a long trip, but if only twice a year maybe not so bad.

I've visited a few of the Hawaiian islands some years ago and it was a great experience. Maui in particular was great, lots of neat things to do and see and more laid back than the more common party environment and tourist trap of Oahu. Would I want to go back and visit Hawaii again? Absolutely, there's more I'd like to see and do. Would I ever want to live there? Absolutely not. Everything is obscenely expensive, there's not really any bodies of fresh water, my hobbies would be a pain (classic cars and bikes) simply for finding parts, paying a fortune to get them shipped there, and waiting a while for them to arrive. Hawaii is a very socialist state, all the high taxes and restrictions on freedom would make me avoid it.

Great responses and interesting. I have a question for you California guys. Would you leave California if you had a set up like this? A lot of people live in California for the climate but if you had this set up you wouldn't have to worry about it. Interesting to get people's opinions.

That's a tough one. This place is expensive and crowded and it seems like there are lot more aholes than there were 20 years ago but the weather is perfect, I'm 50 minutes to the slopes, 1.5 hrs to the beach, have a lake that is 5 minutes away and 10 more within an hour and great mountain biking. Plus SF is a great town to hang out in and we have the Giants and Niners. Tough to beat

If you are talking about for just the 4 months of the summer there is no way I would live anywhere but the NW. That time of year there are great temps, beautiful scenery, water everywhere, golf, major cities, mountain ranges, etc...

Tell him to buy a yacht and base it out of Seattle. Take a month or 2 and cruise the inside passage of Vancouver island, head to alaska, fish his arse off, see the most beautiful boating in the world, etc... The San Juans are ridiculously beautiful.

I don't get why you would leave cali for Hawaii in the summer.

My parents are getting close to retirement and they are starting to consider buying a place in Havasu for the winter half of hte year and live on their yacht the summer half while spending a month or 2 up in the san juans, inside passage, alaska every year.

I am super biased but I can't imagine a better place in the world than the Pacific northwest in July, August and most of September. May is nice but June usually sucks. From Seattle you are a couple hours to the only rain forest in the continental US, a couple hours to a desert that has a river going through it(and is 90+ degrees in the summer), mountains, lakes, ocean, rivers, large cities, small cities, liberal cities, conservative cities, etc... Golf, biking, wakeboarding, skiiing, yachting, hiking, etc...

There are lakes in Northern Michigan that have property owners from all 50 states. Absolutely beautiful in the summer months. Awesome in the winter as well, but you better love winter sports or else it would be tough. That said, absolutely, positively rent in different places over the first few years to get a flavor of what is out there and what he would like. He is a free agent and should take advantage of the flexibility. I have clients who have 2 homes and then those that rent a 2nd home in different locations each year. Seems like the ones that rent the 2nd home in various locations are happier. The flexibility and freedom seem to trump the responsibility of the 2nd home.

For summers, I don't think you can beat Bend, Oregon. We live in the valley and try to get over to Bend as often as we can in the summer. Great 'ski town' vibe, lots of outdoor activities, warm & dry in the summer, amazing breweries, etc...the economy is still pretty depressed over there but since he is retired and not looking for work he can probably pick up a place for a great deal.

Every time we visit we can't stop brainstorming on how we can move over there permanently!

I wanted to thank everyone for writing in. I found out a lot. I would have never considered the northwest. But since he would be living in Maui for the Winter that may be a good fit. I will let you know if he pulls the trigger on the house in maui. Thanks again.

Mike, if he can stand the Florida heat, the areas that surround Orlando can be extremely scenic (clear lakes, spanish moss hanging off of cypress and live oak). Not only scenic, but extremely quiet. A friend of mine came to visit from Atlanta this past weekend and he said he has never experienced so much silence and peacefulness in his life. Granted, he does live in a a hectic city, great city, but hectic. When we weren't riding, I would come up to the house and we did not know where my friend went and every time we looked, we found him down by the dock just absorbing the water and sun. I find it perfect out here. PM if you want specifics about where I live.

We currently have a condo on Norris Lake, TN. Great place to visit, don't If I could live there in retirement, that's 30 years away. Would like to spend time on all the different TVA lakes before picking the retirement spot.
TN has no state income tax
Has the TN Tom river way, access to the Gulf and the world becomes your retirement, on a 40' powerboat.

I new some other folks who retired living on yacht in Sasalito harbor. It was effectively a low cost sweet appartment for them.

I am not sure how the tax rules work in Cali but in washington if you buy a car or boat out of state(like Oregon) you still have to pay the sales tax to the county/city you are registering the boat to in washington. No way to escape the 9%+ sales tax in washington unless you are registering it somewhere in a state that doesn't have sales tax.

No offense to the people suggesting Florida, South Carolina and other Southern states, but us life long West Coasters don't know what "real" humidity is.

I spent two months east of the Rockies in the middle of Summer 33 years ago, and I didn't realize that you can actually taste the air. I feel for anyone who deals with the humidity back East. But I couldn't live there in the Summer.

I also second Bend, beautiful scenery and great Summer weather. Get a house on the Deschutes!

I am not sure how the tax rules work in Cali but in washington if you buy a car or boat out of state(like Oregon) you still have to pay the sales tax to the county/city you are registering the boat to in washington. No way to escape the 9%+ sales tax in washington unless you are registering it somewhere in a state that doesn't have sales tax.

Yes, I think you would need to leave the boat in a slip in OR for some time before transferring it to WA.

The only problem with Colorado for those 4 months is you want water front. There just isn't much water in Colorado. Most "waterfront" homes are on a tiny ass private lake. Other than that the weather those 4 months here is pretty badass. Hot but no humidity!

A state with no state income tax is a smart idea if he'll be cashing out a bunch.
Pac NW is great in the summer. Just moved here 2 years ago and summers are perfect. The other 9 months suck for weather!
What's he want out of waterfront property? Just a place to splash his toes? FIshing, power boating, open water?
For waaaaay less than a mil I've got the perfect retirement place for summers if he wants to be in the country, relatively low cost of living from a home/property ownership standpoint.
Northern WI, waterfront on a 80ac lake. Public lake but next to zero boat traffic since the launch is not ideal, good musky and bass fishing, quiet, paved roads all the way from town. 15min to a town of 3000 people.
Seriously....it's rented out now, but for sale for a fair price (no market up ther to get a fair price from anyone local, not much industry or good jobs). Its the retirement house I built for my parents.

If I were in that situation I think I would be looking to travel. That way, he could pick a different spot each year. I think my first spot would be Cumbucco Brazil. you can rent a place for next to nothing and experience all Brazil has to offer. It would be an adventure and he would live like a king. You could do the entire trip on the interest that $1mm makes in a year. Next year do somewhere different. Summer would be so epic every year that he would be so pumped just planning the next one.

Alaska would be on the short list, as well as Maine. South Africa, etc etc.

My plan is Belize. Climate is good, costs are relatively inexpensive and it doesn't take much to get residency and have little tax on your pension/retirement. I'm thinking little house, fishing boat, see where retired life takes me. Oooh, and they speak english!